Travel time-lapse video is YouTube hit

A time-lapse video of a gap year trip around the world has proved a surprise
success on the video-sharing website YouTube.

The video, called Speeding Around The World In Under Five Minutes, has had more than 200,000 views since it was posted less than a week ago.

It shows the sights seen by Kien Lam, a San Francisco resident, who took more 6,000 photographs in 17 countries as he travelled around in 2010 and 2011.

"After I quit my job last year, I packed a bag, grabbed my camera and bought a one way ticket to London," the artist and photographer writes in his introduction to the video.

"Seventeen countries later, I compiled this time lapse of the many amazing places I came across."

The video, which runs for slightly less than five minutes, shows footage of classic tourist sights such as Stonehenge, the Eiffel Tower and Machu Picchu, as well as other less well known attractions in Bolivia, Morocco and Jordan, among other places.

It is accompanied by a musical score composed by Mr Lam's younger brother, William.

Mr Lam also does photography for weddings, but says he can only take a limited number of bookings due to his travel schedule.